Today, Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) announced a recall encompassing 61,000 cars from the Volkswagen and Skoda marques, that feature software that cuts emissions during testing. This recall is part of the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal that first came to light about a year ago.
The Federal Government approved the recall today, and VGA said that a software fix for more than half the cars are readily available, while they are currently working on software solutions for the remaining cars, which require more model-specific revisions.
Presently, the software update will affect 2.0-litre and 1.6-litre diesel units, while a number of 1.6-litre diesels fitted to some cars will require a “minor” hardware revision to see the cars meet regulation standards. The “minor” hardware revision will see the addition of a new flow rectifier in front of the engine’s air mass sensor, which is engineered to create a smoother airflow for better measurement.
VGA has, however, promised that the revisions will not alter power and performance characteristics. VGA managing director Michael Bartsch said in a statement that “our confidence in this solution is based on the experience of thousands of Amarok owners in Australia and more than 1.7 million customers internationally who have had the update implemented.”
The recall announced today will bring up the total number of diesel Volkswagen Group cars up to 70,000 cars, which have all been affected by the wider Dieselgate scandal which has been at the forefront of automotive news since its discovery in 2015. Audi, which is managed by a separate entity in Australia, has also announced its own recall for almost 17,000 cars, which have been fitted with the same Volkswagen Group engines.
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